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This paper introduces a new instrument for assessing teacher motivation and uses it to compare the motivations of male and female teacher trainees in Jamaica. The results are then contrasted with the gender specific motivations that researchers have found for teachers in other parts of the world. The instrument is a three factor model based on a 13-item questionnaire that can be easily replicated for the assessment of teacher motivation. The three factors are extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and altruistic motivation. The items were developed from 15-minute semistructured individual and focus group interviews with 130 teacher trainees and teacher educators in Jamaica. The factor model was tested on 1,444 teacher trainees who represented an island-wide sample of one-third of the inservice and preservice teacher trainees covering all 3 years of teacher training in Jamaica. The model identified a 51% systematic variation in their responses. It was then used to compare the motivations of male and female teacher trainees and to explore how motivations for teaching were related to age and teaching experience. The results show similarities and differences in the gendered motivations of teachers reported from other countries, and they throw some light on the global phenomenon of the higher attrition for male teachers that can be of some use across cultures in policy decisions for teacher recruitment. (Contains 8 tables and 33 references.) (SLD)

Continuing education students bring with them expectations from previous teaching that challenge the effectiveness of usual teacher evaluation procedures. This paper presents a validated approach to the evaluation of teaching that identifies potential problems with individuals and minority groups of continuing students. This approach can be used during the course to steer teaching back on course before problems arise. The approach, the Three Ability Framework (3AF), results in a single quantitative measure of the quality of teaching that can be used as an administrative decision point. The 3AF feedback form takes only a few minutes to complete. The teacher explains to the students the three abilities research has identified as essential to effective teaching: (1) technical skills; (2) professional competence; and (3) professional attitudes. Students are asked to rate their assessments of each of these areas and their expectations of how the areas should be fulfilled in the course, and instructors rate themselves in each area. Student and instructor ratings are compared (student change rating is subtracted from lecturer change rating), and the resulting number is makes an evaluative decision point. "Zero" would be a perfect indicator of the alignment between student and instructor expectations that is indicative of effective teaching. The method allows frequent assessments over the duration of the course, permitting adjustments when necessary, and it is particularly suited to the evaluation of courses in continuing education. (Contains 35 references.) (SLD)

This paper presents an alternative to student questionnaires for the evaluation of teaching quality, which is defined as maximizing students' academic attainment and the satisfaction of students and the lecturer with the course. The approach aligns students' and the teacher's expectations for change during the course. Previous research has identified three fundamental abilities that lecturers seek to change during the course: (1) technical skills; (2) professional competence; and (3) professional attitudes. A Three Ability Framework (3AF) has been developed to compare students' assessments of the change in these three abilities with the instructor's perceptions of change. The alignment between these evaluations, expressed as the result of subtracting student-rated change from lecturer-rated change, is a figure that can be used as the effective teaching score. To use the 3AF in practice, lecturers explain the abilities to their students, and then ask for ratings at desired time points during the course. This method promotes a positive teaching and learning culture in direct and indirect ways. (Contains 33 references.) (SLD)

This paper presents an alternative means of assessing faculty teaching that can be used by administrators. This method has been derived from in-depth faculty and student interviews, and its criterion of quality has been validated with empirical data through computer sensitivity analysis. The assessment process has been successfully tested in clinical teaching trials. Interviews with faculty have identified that their implicit expectations for professional development can be described in terms of technical skills, professional competence, and professional attitudes. This Three Ability Framework (3AF) is explained to the students by the lecturer, who is then rated by the students on each of these abilities. The lecturer rates himself or herself on the same abilities, and the alignment between the self-rating and the students' ratings is used as a measure of the effectiveness of teaching. The indicator of effective teaching is that the students and the instructor are working toward the same changes. This method promotes a positive teaching and learning culture in direct and indirect ways as it encourages teaching that promotes students' critical and evaluative thinking and high standards in technical skills and professional values. (Contains 33 references.) (SLD)

This paper presents the results of research into a technique for the measurement of effective teaching that avoids the problems inherent in student evaluations of teacher effectiveness. The method takes as little as 5 minutes to administer and so can be used in-course by the teacher to track his or her teaching effectiveness. It results in a single number that can be used at the end of a course as an administrative decision point measure. The initial research with 3 classes of teacher training students (n=12, n=12, and n=23) was done in an Australian university and is now being replicated in other universities. The measure operationally defines the three basic abilities of the Three Ability Framework (3AF): technical skills, professional competence, and professional attitudes. The 3AF method assesses the degree of alignment between the changes the students expect in these three abilities and the changes toward which the teacher is working. Correlations between the scores of academic attainment, degree of teacher/student alignment, and course satisfaction indicated that when the students and their teacher were working towards the same proportion and amount of these three abilities, the students had higher academic attainment and greater course satisfaction. The four steps of the application of the method are outlined. (Contains 1 table and 28 references.) (SLD)

Why trainee teachers join the teaching profession in Jamaica was studied. Previous research has suggested that their reasons may be extrinsic (related to characteristics of the job), intrinsic (related to the individual's wishes), or altruistic (related to the social contribution). Some reasons that could be classified into these 3 categories were identified in 130 interviews with students from the Teaching College of the University of the West Indies. Approximately one third of the students at Jamaican colleges of education (n=1,444) were asked to rate their agreement with each of the 19 reasons on a scale from 0 to 9. Results indicate that extrinsic, intrinsic, and altruistic consideration were three distinct motivations teacher trainees had for choosing the profession. Extrinsic motivation was the most important, accounting for 24.2% of the variance, as compared to 14.6% for altruistic motivation, and 8.8% for intrinsic motivation. (Contains 3 tables and 16 references.) (SLD)

This paper describes a new, but tried and tested, paradigm in teacher evaluation: the Three Ability Framework (3AF). Previous research has identified three fundamental abilities that faculty implicitly expect to develop in their courses: technical skills, professional competence, and professional attitudes. The 3AF monitors the alignment of the student's and teacher's expectations of these developments. The process respects the professional freedom of lecturers to be responsible for how they believe their subjects should be taught. Because the process is so efficient, it can be used two or three times during courses to monitor the quality of teaching. This evaluation method also links student assessment to the professional awareness of the teacher, resulting in a single number that is used as an administrative decision point. The 3AF is applied in a five-step process that begins with training provided the lecturer by the institution. Alignment between student ratings and the lecturer's own rating is calculated. It has been found in previous research that the alignment of percentage ratings correlates with academic attainment as measured by examination and coursework and that the alignment of proportions of the three abilities correlates with enjoyment of the course. (Contains 14 references.) (SLD)

This paper presents an alternative means of assessing faculty teaching that can be used by administrators. This method has been derived from in-depth faculty and student interviews, and its criterion of quality has been validated with empirical data through computer sensitivity analysis. The assessment process has been successfully tested in clinical teaching trials. Interviews with faculty have identified that their implicit expectations for professional development can be described in terms of technical skills, professional competence, and professional attitudes. In practice, lecturers explain these three skill areas to their students and describe how students will be taught and assessed. Students are asked to rate the lecturer on these three areas, and then the lecturer rates himself or herself. The indicator of effective teaching, that the students and the lecturer are working toward the same changes, is measured by the change expected from the students subtracted from the change expected by the lecturer. A "zero" is the score that indicates perfect alignment. This method promotes a positive teaching and learning culture by encouraging teaching and learning that promotes students' critical and evaluative thinking. (Contains 31 references.) (SLD)